A Connecticut mom has a message for parents after she said her 6-year-old son racked up thousands of dollars in in-app purchases while playing his favorite video game on his iPad.
The video above is about phone apps masquerading as calculators and phone settings apps that help teens hide things from their parents.
Wilton resident Jessica Johnson told “Good Morning America” that over the summer, her son George spent a total of $16,293.10 in the Apple App Store to buy rings in the Sonic Forces game. Johnson said her PayPal account is linked to an iPad.
Johnson shared her experience with her moms’ Facebook group in hopes that she can prevent this incident from happening again.
“As a mother of young children, I thought it was important for other parents to be aware of this,” Johnson said. “It’s unfortunate, because we’re all in a pandemic, and we’re all working from home. We’re working so hard to keep our kids entertained while we get work done. We (sometimes) tend to say, ‘Here, take the iPad.'” I think, clearly, that backfired in my case.”
Johnson, a realtor and mother of two, said that on July 9 she noticed the same $106.34 fee showing up on her bank statement 12 times in a row. In the transaction report Johnson shared with “GMA,” there were also a lower fee of $53.16 and several others in the $200 to $600 range.
Johnson said she contacted her bank about the activity. The bank informed her in October that she would be responsible for the fees and suggested she contact Apple. Johnson said she contacted Apple as well as Sega, the video game developer that owns Sonic the Hedgehog.
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Sega has not yet responded to GMA’s request for comment.
Johnson said she received a call from Apple on Tuesday, and the company agreed to refund her part of her money.
“They refunded me $10,553.86,” she said, adding that she did not know the significance of the dollar amount.
Apple confirmed to GMA that it was able to provide Johnson with a refund for all charges that the company was able to identify.
“For more than a decade, the App Store has proven to be the safest and most trusted place to discover and download apps,” Apple told GMA in a statement, stressing that its products have tools implemented to help customers effectively protect themselves and their loved ones. families.
“We understand that mistakes can still happen and are working with customers to investigate them, educate them about the tools available to protect them, and in this case, give the customer a refund,” Apple said.
Johnson said she has a password set on the iPad, which she and her children share, though she believes its settings allow for a one-time password.
“I didn’t realize there was a place where a child could continue to buy without the password after a certain amount of time,” she said. “There are many settings that I’m learning about now.”
Apple said its customers are provided with built-in tools to help parents manage their children’s device use. These resources also aim to protect families from unauthorized in-app charges.
Tools include parental controls, the ability to set up an Apple ID for each family member, Family Sharing and enabling “Ask to Buy,” where if kids want to buy or download a new item, they send a request to their family’s organizer, who can then approve the request. or reject it.
According to Apple, customers can either require a password for each purchase or require a password every 15 minutes. They can also choose how often they want to enter a password when purchasing items, including in-app purchases, from the App Store and iTunes Store.
“Always Required” means that every time you make a purchase, you will be asked to enter your password, even if you are signed in with your Apple ID.
“Required after 15 minutes” means that if the password was entered within the last 15 minutes, the client will not be asked to enter the password again.
Under Parental Controls, customers can manage in-app purchases and purchase approval, track family usage of apps, create app limits, allow only apps that are safe for kids, and set up downtime for specific times when apps and notifications are blocked.
Johnson said it was a positive outcome when Apple reached out to her to help address the issue.
She said she wanted to draw attention to how games are designed for children.
“It’s intentionally designed to be a brain chemistry experience that one can have as an adult in a casino,” Johnson added.
In Sonic Forces, players compete for rings in exchange for upgrading characters. In-app purchases include 150 Red Star rings for $1.99 for a pack of 17,500 for $99.99.
Johnson said she asked her child if he remembered how many packets he clicked to buy, but he didn’t have a sure answer.
“It creates a drive to want to keep going,” Johnson said of the game. “I think that’s what motivated my son to keep pressing the button, to get more players, to run faster.”
News outlets picked up Johnson’s story after parents responded to it in social networking groups, sharing tips on maximizing privacy settings and sharing parenting styles on how to handle children and screen time.
If you’re sharing a device, Johnson said, assume the setting you’re using for your child is the default. “And look over your son’s shoulder,” she added. “See what they really see.”
Becky Worley, GMA tech contributor and reporter, agreed. Many games that appeal to children contain in-app purchases, and parents have to check for them every time they download a game.
“Passwords are private,” Worley said. “They may seem inconsequential, like you’re keeping secrets from your kids, but it’s a way to protect them and yourself.” “Children should not be able to access any in-app purchase without parental supervision.”
Worley echoed Johnson, saying parents should know what their children are doing online. Talk about things like in-app purchases, Worley said, and better yet — play with it.
“Parents need to ask questions like, ‘Who do you play with? “What do you like about a game?” and “When do you know you’ve played a lot?”, adding that parents should check devices to make sure kids can’t install apps without your permission and set up kids’ devices with parental controls so parents can monitor who’s using them. their own devices.
News outlets picked up Johnson’s story after parents responded to it in social networking groups, sharing tips on maximizing privacy settings and sharing parenting styles on how to handle kids and screen time.
If you’re sharing a device, Johnson said, assume the setting you’re using for your child is the default. “And look over your son’s shoulder,” she added. “See what they really see.”
Becky Worley, GMA tech contributor and reporter, agreed. Many games that appeal to children contain in-app purchases, and parents have to check for them every time they download a game.
“Passwords are private,” Worley said. “They may seem inconsequential, like you’re keeping secrets from your kids, but it’s a way to protect them and yourself.” “Children should not be able to access any in-app purchase without parental supervision.”
Worley echoed Johnson, saying parents should know what their children are doing online. Talk about things like in-app purchases, Worley said, and better yet — play with it.
“Parents need to ask questions like, ‘Who do you play with? “What do you like about a game?” and “When do you know you’ve played a lot?”, adding that parents should check devices to make sure kids can’t install apps without your permission and set up kids’ devices with parental controls so parents can monitor who’s using them. their own devices.
One of the lessons, Summer said, is knowing what money is, which requires knowing how to make that concept concrete. “Even if they don’t earn routine money, what is the equivalent of paying back $16,000 in this lifetime?” she asked.
Summer said the kids might be happy to do some extra chores around the house if they owed money. That way, they can take control of something in order to make amends – especially if they are feeling guilty.
However, she added, it is important that the parents do not prolong the punishment and convey to the child that they have been forgiven.
As for technology use, Summer suggests making a rule that kids go to their mom or dad when something new appears on the screen.
“Instead of clicking on it, make these decisions together,” she said.
Summer added, “As the brain matures, we can resist impulsiveness more and more. But really, at the age of six…it’s really hard not to[click]in these fast interactions within these apps.”
The American Academy of Pediatrics told “Good Morning America” in March that it recognized that children will use more screen media during the pandemic “whether for entertainment, education, or social connection.”
One of the organization’s most important tips for managing screens is to have a plan.
“Talk with your kids about your daily structure, how you will handle stress, and when you will take breaks from telecommuting or schoolwork to relax and connect with each other,” the AAP writes on its website.
Related: “Have the kids done their chores?”: Parents build an app that helps keep track of kids’ chores
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